. Additional aircraft information from a good friend:
Had a wonderful series of e-mails today from Mexico, a modeler in receipt of the new 350th kit. He had no knowledge of which aircraft were on which wave or the genius of Minoru Genda in the changes made to make full use of the existing aircraft for the host of variables the aerial attack contained. In these responces, I now hope to share some of this with others who may be in such a cavern without a candle.
EAST WIND RAIN by Stan Cohen [Missoula, MT: Pictorial Histories Pub; 1981, major revision 1991, corrected 1994, retitled ATTACK ON PEARL HARBOR 2000) is the largest pictorial of the attack in any language. On page 15 is the list: "Total Participants" which relates the aircraft usage for all six aircraft carriers. I can send this by e-mail via PearlHarborHistory AT Hotmail.com for those in need.
Simply, the Akagi KATEs and nine Zeros were used in the first wave; another nine Zeros with the Akagi VALs were used in the second wave.
Akagi Zeros and VALs were painted overall gray-green (Tamiya XF-76). The KATEs were also painted overall gray-green, then a coat of dark green was painted on the upper surface. The gray-green was a gloss...not the extremely high-gloss which we once used on car models in the 1960s, but gloss none-the-less. The dark green was a semi-gloss. ADD white for scale effect. Your judgement may come into play for 1/350 scale.
Tamiya produced this ŠD—ÎF "Hairyokushoku" [literally 'gray-green'] for their 1/32 Zero 21 and "unsaturated" (lightened) the color for use on 1/32 and 1/48 scale miniatures:
http://tamiyashop.jp/shop/images//8/1/81776.jpgSweet has "unsaturated" the ŠD—ÎF "Hairyokushoku" color even further for 1/144 scale Zeros.
http://www.ms-plus.net/images_item/19000/19120.jpgGaia has their ŠD—ÎF "Hairyokushoku" version:
http://www.ms-plus.net/images_item/20000/20487.jpgand Mr Color is selling ŠD—ÎF "Hairyokushoku", too.
Tamiya:
http://tamiyashop.jp/shop/product_info. ... s_id=81776Sweet:
http://www.ms-plus.com/search.asp?id=19120GAIA:
http://www.ms-plus.com/search.asp?id=20487Mr Color:
http://kakaku.livedoor.com/item_info/20773440560134The latest color discoverys are from Japan. Several Japanese researchers made a concerted task to locate color documents with great success. Three Japanese Navy documents and a IJA document have been located thus far.
The first document published was Feb 1942 IJN Document Number '0266', a test of variety of colors applied to the famous Zero. A large amount of discussion began, yet the conclusion was that more searching was required.
Page 1:
http://groups.msn.com/japanesemodelairc ... otoID=1568Page 2:
http://groups.msn.com/japanesemodelairc ... otoID=1569The next document located and GAKKEN magazine printed was an April 1945 IJN document number '8609' and the number system was drastically different than '0266' for the same color name. Page 1:
http://groups.msn.com/japanesemodelairc ... otoID=1527 (All pages are posted at this URL).
Digging continued. and TWO copies of the November 1938 IJN document [April 1942 revision] gTemporary Specification No.117 Additional Volumeh were located. This truely laid out the colors used in WWII and the other documents (above) helped to show some changes as the war progressed.
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~cocoro/subw117-2.htmThe study continues for applications of select color CHANGES used in 'the factory' or in 'the field'. The factorys made changes as paint production was bombed.
Satoshi Kimura, the son of the late Tadao Kimura (pilot of Zero AI-101 at Pearl Harbor), wrote more about the history of Japanese color (This is a machine translation):
http://translate.google.com/translate?u ... en&ie=UTF8Check the 'Ame' (caramel) 'Iro' (color) at:
http://groups.msn.com/japanesemodelairc ... mples.msnw Its use ceased pre-war and was NOT used at Pearl Harbor.
Uniquely, in October 1941, the orders came down for VALs and KATEs of the Kido Butai to receive camouflage. At that moment, these VALs and KATEs were in NMF, with silver painted on the fabric surfaces. Most had red lacquer tails.
Japanese witnesses recall that this painting had to be worked around the training schedule. KATE and VAL types were training at various airfields. Paint stocks at each of the bases were used to paint both Nakajima aircraft and Aichi aircraft.
A few fields had only gray-green paint in enough quanity, then those aircraft got gray-green...while most fields had only 'Tsuchi' (earth, mud) 'iro' (color) called 'I3'. Thus you may understand there was little uniformity between aircraft carriers.
As we see from relics, the Akagi and Kaga VALs and KATEs received FIELD APPLICATIONS of greenish-gray on their undersurface. Akagi/Kaga KATEs were at Kagoshima Field. Akagi/Kaga VALs were at Tomitaka Field.
Soryu/Hiryu VALs were at Kasanohara Field and received the gray-green.
The Shokaku KATEs were at Usa Field and received I3:
http://groups.msn.com/japanesemodelairc ... hotoID=118 . Zuikaku KATEs were there, too.
Other training fields were:
Izumi Field: Soryu/Hiryu KATEs... They stretched their stock of the D2 dark green by application of thinner coats to the KATEs than what other units' aircraft received.
Oita Field: Shokaku/Zuikaku VALs
Zeros were already in a factory finish 'M0/M1'. They trained at:
Omura Field; Oita Field; and Saeki Field.
Thus from relics, photos, and witnesses:
Akagi VALs and KATEs were painted in 'hairyokushoku' [translated 'gray-green', greenish gray]...the KATEs were then painted over the upper surfaces with dark green. The upper surface dark green 'D2' color may be seen in the 'D' series of the '117' color swatches.
weathered gray-green...from an Akagi Val crash in the ocean:
http://groups.msn.com/japanesemodelairc ... PhotoID=99An UN-weathered sample, recovered by a USS Raleigh crewman from the Akagi dive bomber crash on USS Curtiss, is also colored gray-green.
http://groups.msn.com/japanesemodelairc ... otoID=1195Kaga VALs and Kaga KATEs were coated gray-green and were then the KATEs were covered over the upper surfaces with dark green; the Kaga KATEs' red tails was over coated with a brown to probably aid in reforming.
Soryu and Hiryu KATEs were coated with I3, a tannish, brownish khaki color [which American witnesses at crash sites at Pearl Harbor called 'mustard']. The KATEs then had a thin coating of green was applied to the upper surface. The witness reports say that brown flakes were showing on these KATEs. The photo of Juzo Mori:
http://groups.msn.com/japanesemodelairc ... PhotoID=84 and his B5N in early 1942 shows the I3 showing through the D2 green and newly applied paint repairs to the chipped paint using more I3.
Shokaku and Zuikaku VALs received the I3 coating...
We know that Shokaku KATEs got the I3 coating, did the Zuikaku KATEs? The Shokaku KATEs only got a dark green application over the upper surface of the main wings and horizontal stabs...and the dorsal spine of the fuselage... While the Zuikaku KATEs got green over all the upper surface [like Akagi].
Sidnei Maneta has nice COLOR artwork for "Pearl Harbor" and other CV borne actions:
"Pearl":
http://groups.msn.com/japanesemodelairc ... craft.msnw"Other" includes MIDWAY:
http://groups.msn.com/japanesemodelairc ... units.msnwFor more Japanese aircraft details for 7 Dec 1941:
http://www.pearlharborattacked.com/cgi- ... ct=SF;f=11Cheers,
David Aiken, a Director: Pearl Harbor History Associates, Inc.
http://www.pearlharbor-history.org/